Early or late dining with kids?

[cruzincon]

When I booked our cruise I asked for the early dinner seating since we are taking the kids this time 6 and 4. Now that I start thinking about it I may want to change it to late seating. The kids have already informed us to only expect them to eat in the dining room on formal night, they don't want to sit for nearly 2 hours every night they want to play. Works for me to get a nice dinner with hubby and not fuss over the kids. But what do I do with the kids if we have an early seating. Is camp carnival open during dinner? If I change to late seating could I feed the kids at the buffet around 5 or 6 and send them to camp carnival and then enjoy our dinner? How has anyone else done this? Would appreciate knowing what worked for others.

 

Thanks,

 

Connie

[rosebud1g]

Camp Carnival has a dinner for kids on the lido deck restaurant every night

from what I can remember starting at 5:30pm. We just went on the Miracle this summer and the Glory last summer. My kids are ages 10 and 8. They ate dinner every night with us in the dining room early seating and loved it. They were entertained by our waiters. They geared it especially for them. If you do the late dinner with just your husband, you can leave

your kids at camp carnival since it is open until 10 pm. After that you

have to pay for babysitting. The late dinner will last uniti 10pm.

We prefered the early. I was full the rest of the night even with the early.

Also, they have picture stations set up everywhere before you go to dinner so you may miss the family pictures if you take them to camp

and do the late dinner with the 2 of you. We brought home some wonderful pictures. If you have any more questions email me Rosebud1g@verizon.net

 

Rose

[Fiestacruiser]

We did the early dinning with our children 8 and 7. THe late seating is much to late for us! Our kids also enjoy the waiters and waitresses. Maybe you can choose to do the fine dinning one evening, for a night out alone?

[BND]

6 and 4 year olds "informed" you? What do you want to do? Do you want them to work on restaurant manners in a more relaxed environment? I can see you not expecting them to be able to sit still for two hours, but if they do decide to eat in the dining room, early seating will be better. I know my boys at 6 and 4 were in bed by 8 every night so no way could they stay up to eat dinner that late. On Fantasy last year I didn't see any children in our late seating.

[Lurkyloo]

We made sure Ryan had dinner with us every night when he was younger, but on our last cruise he was 14 so we insisted on dinner with us on the first night and the two formal nights along with breakfast every morning. That way we could at least spend SOME time together (other than when we were in Ports.) If he chose to eat with buddies on the Lido deck on the other nights, he could do so! Naturally, he did, but at least we got to see him at breakfast and on the formal nights! ;)

[cruzincon]

Thanks for the replies. Now that I reread my post it sounds like I'm a bad mom. I guess I should have said it is only a 4 night cruise and I am only talking about leaving the kids in camp for 2 nights. We have been working on manners, my kids are very well behaved and I am very consious of how they act in public. They are just very excited about playing in camp carnival. I'm sure everything will work out just fine. I'm Just a little nervous about taking the kids this time. Sounds like the servers really enteratain them so maybe they will want to come every night.

[Lurkyloo]

Thanks for the replies. Now that I reread my post it sounds like I'm a bad mom. I guess I should have said it is only a 4 night cruise and I am only talking about leaving the kids in camp for 2 nights. We have been working on manners, my kids are very well behaved and I am very consious of how they act in public. They are just very excited about playing in camp carnival. I'm sure everything will work out just fine. I'm Just a little nervous about taking the kids this time. Sounds like the servers really enteratain them so maybe they will want to come every night.

 

Bad mom??? Heck - you're taking them on a cruise aren't you? ;) It's definitely your choice - if you think they would rather eat with Camp Carnival and you and hubby would like to have a nice romantic dinner without them, why not? We personally like to have Ryan with us at dinner, that's just us! Sure doesn't make us better parents! Don't worry about what other people do - just do what's right for your family and you will all have fun! :D

[LizaMM]

PLEASE don't apologize!! This is YOUR family vacation and it should suit YOUR family!! There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to find some adult alone time during this family vacation!!

 

That said....you can certainly request a late seating for the two of you. The couple we had dinner with every night on my last cruise did this. Just try to impress upon your TA/Carnival PVP that you want a late seating for two adults. Check your seating time and table configuration when you board and request a change if you need to.

 

You can sit with your kids earlier in the evening while they eat in the Buffet and then have a nice dinner as adults without a problem.

 

Camp Carnival will run for free until 10 PM. Keep in mind that one of you will have to go up to Camp and sign them in for the pay group childcare at that time if you are running later than 10PM.

 

The thing is...once you have a table it might be hard to bring your kids along with you some nights if you want to. This all depends on the time of year you are cruising and availibility. If you book a table for just the two of you you will most likely be seated with other adults and the table could be full making it not possible to bring your kids some nights. If you request a table for all of you then it is quite possible you will be seated with another family with kids which means you won't get an "adult only" dinner if you leave your kids in Camp Carnival.

 

Personally (and I am a single mom with 4 kids) I see no problem with wanting to find some adult time on your vacation and dinner is wonderful for that! You may not be able to have it both ways in the Dining Room so I would say think it through and decide what works best for YOUR family!!

[Suburban Drudgery]

I have a 4 and 7 yr old. We did early dining. The second night on the cruise they wanted to go to the camp carnival at 4:00pm sharp. The camp takes the kids to the buffet for you. You can eat alone with your dh. Then the camp takes them to the show if you allow them too. One night we sat behind the camp kids at the show and saw our ds with the other kids. He had so much fun with the kids and camp. My dc didn't want to get dressed up for formal nights so we took them to the camp before dinner and my dh and I had a quiet dinner alone plus jazz after. The camp closes at 10:00pm or you can have dc stay for 10.00 a hour for 2 dc. We did that once and it was great. We danced at the disco till 2:00am like 21 year olds.;)

[Jolimont]

We prefer early with children, it leaves more time to do activities after dinner. We also prefer to eat in the dinning room, kid or no kid. And kids do enjoy Camp Carnival a lot too, so they won't have dinner with you every night.

[Hollyspop]

Just a thought from an old grandpa. Having dinner on a cruise shipe is not somthing you will get very many chances to do with your children. As you may know, they grow up all too soon and you will be left with nothing but memories. Make them great ones !!!!:)

[chrystine]

My son just turned 6 and he is going on his 6th cruise next month. We always choose late seating dinner because: 1) he prefers to eat with the other Camp Carnival kids, 2) he does not have the patience to sit through a 1 1/2 hour dinner and 3) hubby and I get to enjoy some private couple time together. Usually, they have dinner for the kids in the buffet area around 6-7pm and afterwards they take the kids back to the Camp or to the early show (for the older kids). After we drop him off for his dinner, hubby and I usually go back to our cabin to shower/get changed for dinner. If time allows, we will go have some pre-dinner drinks and then head to the show after dinner. After the show, we pick our son up. We spend all day with our son but nighttime is for hubby and me. After being with us all day, our son is ready to get rid of us a few hours anyhow. He loves Camp Carnival and would probably spend all day there if he could.

[akcruz]

Another thing to think about/remember, is that Camp Carnival is not usually open on the first night of the cruise, so if you are on a 4 night cruise, and taking them to formal night they are already with you 50% of the time.

 

We've done both early and late with our kids and prefer to do the earlier. Our kids are a little older, but do love to go to the dining room. It makes them feel like grown ups and the waitstaff does cater to the kids. My son especially can't wait to get to the camp after dinner so that's when we have our time. If you let the staff know that they can stay past 10, no need to go back and 'sign them in' for the late night. We usually do one night where the kids do the camp for dinner and we try to get to the supper club if possible!

 

Bottom line, you need to do what works best for you and your situation.

[Darcy03231]

Our first cruise with the kids we had the late seating and I'll never do that again with kids! Since then when we take the kids we do the early seating. My kids love to eat in the dining room so they go everynight. There's nothing wrong with having your children go to Camp Carnival for dinner if both you and they want to. Heck, if my kids wanted to go to Camp Carnival one or two nights to hang out with their friends I'd let them, they just don't want to go.

[GORDONCHICK]

My DS is 5. He's been cruising since 3. We choose early seatings because we normally eat fairly early at home. Also, I don't want to get up from the table at 10pm and feel stuffed when I go to bed. I have found that there is still lots of play time for DS after dinner in the dining room. IMHO, practicing manners (like at home) is one thing, putting them to use in public is quite another. Also, during slow segments of dinner, when they may get fidgety, asking about their favorite things from the day usually will take their mind off of the boring parts of dinner. My DS loves to regale us with tales of his favorite and not-so-favorite things of the day, and what towel animal he hopes to see back in the cabin later.

[JackieH]

We are going on the Valor this month. We have 3 kids, 12, 7 and 2. We requested the early seating. We eat early at home, and I do not want to feel stuffed before going to bed. I dont think my 2 yr old will last past 9pm,maybe 10. We plan on the kids eating with us each night. They will spend plenty of time in Camp Carnival, I want to enjoy dinner with my family.

[cruzincon]

Thanks for all the advise. We will keep the early seating and Hollyspop your my kind of grandpa. We will definetly enjoy both family time and alone time on the cruise.

[ravyn97]

A little different scenario than most that have replied (no significant other along), but my sister & I have chosen late dinner seating. My DD is 9 years old & I expect she will want to do the formal dining room thing at least 2-3 during the 5 night cruise. If she wants to join the kids, that's fine, too, but personally I want to have her experience the 'fine dining' experience of the Captain's Dinner & I've seen how spoiled the children are by the waiters during dinner.

I personally love to eat in the dining rooms breakfast & dinner every day...lunch & in-between snacks perhaps somewhere else, but that way I can enjoy & try so many more 'different' foods than I normally eat at home.

Enjoy YOUR family vacation & do what's best for all involved...it really differs from family to family!

[idlewood4]

We are a family of 4 with a 12 yo dd and 16 yo ds. We have done late seating and find it works well with us. There is always so much going on, it's hard to find a time for us to get together. We all enjoy pursuing our own interests/activities.

 

By dining late, we all know that supper is the time we can definitely meet up and share our days. The kids may bolt off to activities after dinner, but we always share that supper time together. DH and I work different shifts, so it's nice to have a dinner together everynight while on vacation.

 

I like having it be towards the end of our day, so we can wind down a bit. If I had the first dining time, I'd be asleep by 9, so this stretches my day out!

 

I forgot the most important part, by dining late we can have sushi when the sushi bar is open. That is the most important part. Have the sushi as they first open, it's a great snack to tide us over to the late dinner.

[DqALEX]

I like early because thats when I eat at home around 5:30 6:00

[WorkingMomNeedsaVacation]

As I see it, the early dinner is too early and the late is just a little too late - but I opted for the late seating for our cruise next February. Our kids will be 11 and 7 and typically go to bed late on vacation. We usually eat around 7pm at home - but that isn't an option.

 

The downside to the late seating, as others have pointed out, is how late it is when you finish eating and you feel kind of stuffed. The downside to the early seating is how rushed you feel to get cleaned up and ready to get to your assigned dining time.

 

We went on another cruise last year (Disney) and opted for early seating. We didn't really enjoy ourselves because we always felt like we had to hurry up and be somewhere, get showered, get dressed, etc. It wasn't very relaxing at all.

 

So, this time, with 4 port days on the Miracle, I decided to try late seating. If it doesn't work for us, we can always eat at the buffet or order room service, I am not going to worry about it. I want to get in our time at the ports, and not have to race to the dining room.

 

Wish me luck!

[hockeyluver]

my great neice (6) and her grandparents joined us on our last cruise. We saw her the first night and the last night. She enjoyed camp carnival so much she didnt want to eat with us. They even have something special on the formal nights.